Belt stretcher and clamp.



G. W. REED.

BELT STRETCHER AND CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17. l9l8.

Lzwzw.

INVENTCR. C flmzw Wfieed Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

:15: NIIEDSTA S PATENT-"OFFICE" f cunning. Monastic, cAiirionirra, Assmese BENiviE' a. REED}, or v i 1. MOLIIJESTQCALIFORNQIAN; y 9

.BEL'I eamen-masseu e. y

1 Be itknown that 1 CHARnEs XV. T REED, a citizen of the United StatesofAmerica, Tesiding at Modesto, inthe county of Stanis' laus, 'State ofCalifo-rna, have invented oer taiu new and useful Improvements in BeltStretchers' and Clamps and I do declare the following to bea*clear,full, and exact description ofthe-same; reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, antlilto the characters of reference: markedthereon, which form a part ofthi s application.

This-1 invention relates to belt stretchers and clamps, particularly forusewith belts Off the type used in transmitting power in machine shops,factories, etc the principal object 7 being 1 to produce a stretcher andclamp which may be applied to the belt with out removing the same i fromits pulleys in order to tighten 1 and hold 1 it Pin position:

while relacing. i

Another object istoproduce such a device as will be a. complete unit initself, with no parts to assemble and; with no removable meiirbers tobecome m'i'slaid.

A further object is to provide (device which may quickly andeasi lywbeapplied and operated by one manyand which Will maintain the clamped endsof the belt substantially ona plane one with the other. i

A still further object of the invention -is to produce a simple andinexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective forthe purposes for which it is designed.

These objects, I accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of the parts as will fully appear by a perusal of thefollowing specification and claims.

On the drawings, similar characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several views.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the complete device.

Fig. 2 is an end section through one of the clamps taken on a line 2-2of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawings, the numeral 1 designates the stretcher bar of any desiredlength which is provided with a plurality of notches 2 cut into eachedge in staggered relation.

Slidable on the bar is a sleeve 3 on which is fulcrumed a lever 4. Dogs5 are pivotally i sfinamfi of Letters was Application filed August 17,1913;

Patented lam-Q1, 1919, Serial No. 250,359.

mounted to: the lever, one on either side of the sleeve and adapted toengage with the notches2a An eye6 is secured to or formed with thesleeve7-, formed in the shape of a 'V, with the apex thereof in the eye 6. Theouter ends 8!:of the V-rshaped rod are: bent parallel to each other; andpass through :the lower bar 9 of a clamp inwhioh'are seated a pair ofeye bolts 10 and.1-0?,-through whichntheends 8 also passmiThe bar 9:isiprovided with a groove ll extending outwardly and at an through whichpasses. a rod angle. fromtheseat of thebolt 10 in order:

that the bolt. may be turned on the rod 8 into "the groove "and rest inthe position shown in-Fig.2, The-bolt 10,however, is always maintainedin a rigid vertical=posi- Turnable on thevertically positioned bolt 10is the upper clamping bar 12, of the same shape and size as thel0werbar,.and provided at itsopposite end with an open endedslotl3tadapted to receivethe bolt 10* therein. The underside of thisendis'cut away as at 14 ,to permit'theupper member of the clamp' beingturned on the bolt 10 andpast the inclined: bolt 10 without thenecessity of raising theta-r112. to clear the bolt. a

The eye bolts are provided with hand nuts 15 to clampthe bars9 and 12firmly together; These bars are of course sufiiciently rigid so thatthey will not bend or warp between the clamping bolts, and if made ofwood the upper bar is provided with a metal sheathing 16 to protect thesame and pre vent the hand nuts from cutting into the wood.

The upper ends of the bolts are headed over once the hand nuts are on,as it is never necessaryto entirely remove them, and this prevents theirbeing taken off and mislaid. A similar clamping unit is pivotally swun10111 an eye 17 on the opposite end of the It is to be understood that,I am aware that the stretcher member here shown is old, and I do notclaim any novelty there for as such; this type being used in combinationwith my improved clamps for the reason that it was the one best suitedfor my purpose.

The operation is as follows: The clamping units are first set therequired distance apart by manipulating the stretcher dogs.

' The bars 12 are then swung back into posidown by means of tion andfirmly clamped 4; is then operated the hand nuts. The lever to work thesleeve 3 along the bar 1 to tighten and stretch the belt. Whensuitablystretched, the overlapping end may be cut ofi" and the belt laced. Theends of the belt will be kept on a level by reason of their resting onthe bar 1 and the V-shaped rods 7, the tautness of the device preventingany sag.

From the foregoing description it will readily be seen that I haveproduced such a device as substantially fulfils the objects of theinvention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device still in practice, such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as defined by the appended claims. I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A belt stretcher and clampcomprising the combination with a stretcher having a pawl and ratchetlever-actuated movement, of a pair of clamps, one being swivelly mountedto the stretcher bar and the other swivelly mounted to the movablemember of the stretcher, each clamp including upper and lower bars, abolt at one end rigidly secured in the lower bar and projecting throughthe upper bar, the same being turnable on the bolt, a bolt swivellymounted in the other end of the lower bar whereby the bolt may beinclined at an angle, the upper bar being provided with an open passageof the bolt therethrough, and hand nuts on the bolts adapted to impingeagainst the top surface of the upper bar, whereby a belt placed betweenthe bars may be securely clamped.

2. A belt clamp and stretcher comprising a pair of clamping members,each clamping member including a V-shaped rod, one of said rods beingswivelly connected at its apex to a stretcher bar and the other-rodsimilarly connected to the movable member of the stretcher, a lowerclamping bar, an eye bolt seated in each end of the bar, the ends of theV-shaped rod being parallel and passing through the bar and the eyes ofthe bolts therein, an upper bar turnably mounted on one of said bolts,a. slot in the other end of the upper bar, the lower bar being providedwith a recess inclining. from the seat of the bolt at that end wherebythe same may rest at an angle and the slot end of the upper bar beingcut away on its under surface to permit of the bar passing ove theinclined bolt, and hand nuts on the bolts adapted to clamp the twoclamping bars together.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES W. REED.

Witnesses:

HENRY Lin, 1. G. Ri-ronns.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five'cents each, byaddressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0.

ended slot for the

